August 3, 2007

What is the smallest space for a refracting lane and exam room?

The smallest refracting lane/exam room I've ever done was 7'-6" x
10'. I spoke to this client recently and he says it's working very
well for him. He has a small writing counter and sink to the right
of the chair and the computer with digital eye chart monitor to the
left.

This client was in a situation where he needed to fit 3 exam rooms
into the space that originally held 2 exam rooms. The narrow width
of the room actually works to his advantage because it only takes a
short roll on the stool between computer and writing counter.
Believe it or not, he even has a guest chair in there!

I've seen people make exam rooms as narrow as 6'-6" work but only
when the phoropter is wall-mounted. Most folks find that 8' x 12'
is a comfortable size for an exam room. However, it is possible to
work in a smaller space if you have to.

2 comments:

jamie said...

Is an 8 ft wide exam lane wide enough if the door into the lane is on the same wall as the eye chart/mirrors?

Barbara Wright, C.I.D. said...

Yes, it is.